Lucky Number 13

My baby girl is 13 months old today! Woo Hoo! Last night, just before midnight, I sat in Natalie's room while she slept and tried to remember as much as I could about the past 13 months. And I cried - a lot - good happy tears. I swear each month I mourn, just a little, the baby that she'll never be again but I also fall in love with the little person she is right now!

And here's a list of 13 things I currently love about my 13-month old!

1. My sweet baby girl says, "Hi!" all the time to me, to Chad, to Louie, to the flowers, ... but never in response to a stranger saying "hi" first.
2. Natalie has been making some rather messy attempts at spoon-feeding, and she really loves to hold the bowl! Also, she signs eat, more, and all done with much zeal and pride. She can also drink from a Camelback bottle - bite valve, straw, and all.
3. I am completely in love with her ridiculous snaggle tooth - no front teeth at this point, just the one snaggle. (But I could do without the baby mullet; wishing the front of her hair would grow in already!)
4. It is so cute the way she bends over and looks at me from between her legs - where did she get that idea? Just looking for a new view of the world, I suppose!
5. She drops her binky and lovey into her crib when we get her up; I know it isn't easy to leave those security items behind, but she handles it well and gets rewarded with lots of smooches!
6. She adores her kitty cat lovey that I've named "Meow" - she chats with him and lights up when she sees him ... it's adorable!
7. File this under random ... Chad and I have been saying letter names to her when we play with the blocks or foam letters, and when we say the letter "L," she totally cracks up ... why is that funny?
8. I love her voice from her random babbles complete with highs and lows to her mimic singing of Aye, Aye, Aye and La, La, La.
9. Her obsession with "balls" continues; too bad she always takes them from her playmates. We play "roll the ball" with her, and she really likes to sit between us while Chad and I volley a beach ball back and forth ... simple pleasures :)
10. Taking things OUT is a well-honed skill ... books off of shelves, clothes out of baskets, plasticware out of cabinets, everything out of her diaper bag, ... yeah, she's got it figured OUT ... IN, not so much. I just love to watch how determined she is to empty whatever it is she's working on.
11. This girl has some serious dancing ability. Gone is the nonchalant rocking back and forth, instead she's up on her feet bouncing up and down and shaking it ... as my sister might say, "She gets it from her mama." All those afternoon dance sessions are paying off ... thanks MTV online!
12. Natalie loves the water. We frequent the neighborhood baby pool, and she splashes like she means it! Not mention how stinkin' cute she looks in her little baby bathing suit and sun hat. Seriously, it should be illegal to be this cute :)
13. She is WALKING everywhere ... she does laps around the bottom level of our house. She takes off from the family room, walks into the living room, runs the corner to the dining room, and then heads into the kitchen ... and does it all over again. I want to strap a pedometer on her little waistband :)

Yes, this blogger is so very happy to be the mommy of an amazing 13-month old!